The US president Donald Trump on March 28 replaced the US Ambassador to Kenya Robert Godec with Kyle McCarter, Illinois senator following his long history with a charity with ties to the African nation, in a move yet to be approved by the Senate.
Mr. Godec was nominated by the former US president, Barack Obama in 2012. He is yet to make a statement about him being fired.
McCarter, a manufacturer, and a politician accepted the nomination and promised to bring the two nations closer together.
“It is such honor to be asked to represent President Trump and our great nation in a country where I have lived and served for many years. I look forward to bringing about a closer relationship that will benefit both our nations,” Mr. McCarter said in a statement.
McCarter founded the Each One Feed One International charity that helps orphaned and abandoned children as well as providing medical treatment for those with HIV and malaria.
He has worked for the charity for over three decades. He and his wife worked in Kenya back in 1987 and they helped build a medical clinic. Their work with the charity foundation resumed in 2011 to the present.
McCarter, according to the White House website, has served in various positions. He has been the State Senator in the Illinois General Assembly since 2009. Apart from being a part of the charity, he also volunteered as a Member of Mercy Ministries of America (now Mercy Multiplied) and served as its President for a year. He has been a member of numerous Chambers of Commerce in Illinois.
The White House announcement stated that McCarter would be the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of American to the Republic of Kenya.
The post, however, is yet to be confirmed by the Senate. His name was suggested by the Republican members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation in May 2017.
This comes at a time when recently, president Trump fired the US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson while he was on a trip in Kenya.
If McCarter’s nomination is approved he will replace Robert Godec who has served since January 16, 2013. Some sources say Godec had been biased in efforts to foster an agreement between Jubilee and NASA since the disputed August 8, 2017, presidential elections, to which they threatened to write to relevant US authorities to recall the envoy.